Cybersecurity Enhancement Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4061) to advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards, and for other purposes:

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 4061, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009.

* I'd like to thank Representative Lipinski, Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for crafting this important piece of bi-partisan legislation.

* Cybersecurity is a critical issue in a world with increasing reliance on information systems. So much of our personal lives, from bank accounts to medical records are online. And much of our world, from traffic signals to water purification, operate with industrial control systems that are vulnerable to hacking. Indeed, a Wall Street Journal article in April of this year reported that cyberspies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind potentially-disruptive software programs and, more recently, the Chinese government was accused of being behind a number of cybersecurity attacks which targeted U.S. networks, including a breach of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter development program.

* Congress takes this growing threat to the Nation's cyber network seriously and has gathered here today to consider a bill designed to harness relevant U.S. government resources into a coordinated approach to the problem.

* The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009 authorizes $395 million for the National Science Foundation programs aimed at improving cybersecurity research--$69 million in FY 2010, $73.5 million in FY 2011, $79 million in FY 2012, $84 million in FY 2013, and $90 million in FY 2014. It reauthorizes existing research and development programs and includes ``identity management'' as a new supported research area.

* The bill reauthorizes cybersecurity workforce and traineeship programs at NSF, as well as cybersecurity research program, and authorizes $609 million in FY 2010 through FY 2014, and $319 million after FY 2014, for NSF programs.

* A key player in the Nation's cybersecurity effort will be National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has already done pioneering work in information security. I am proud to have NIST in my Congressional district.

* This measure places a number of new requirements on NIST, which is responsible for setting cybersecurity standards for nonclassified Federal networks. Among its many important provisions is a requirement for NIST to develop a coordinated plan for U.S. involvement in the development of international cybersecurity technical standards that ensures adequate U.S. Government representation; the bill requires NIST to develop a cybersecurity awareness and education program that would disseminate best practices and technical standards for individuals, small businesses, state and local governments, and educational institutions; NIST is required to engage in research and development programs to improve identity management systems, which include health information technology systems; and, NIST is required to establish technical standards to improve interoperability, authentication methods, privacy protection, and usability of identity management systems.

* The bill authorizes $30 million in FY 2010 through FY 2014 for these programs.

* According to the Office of Management and Budget and The Government Accountability Office, despite spending an estimated $6 billion a year protecting nearly $72 billion in information technology infrastructure and more than $350 million in cybersecurity research and development each year, U.S. information technology infrastructure remains vulnerable to attacks, and agencies tasked with its protection are not fulfilling their responsibilities.

* Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, told members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee yesterday, that ``in the dynamic of cyberspace, the technology balance right now favors malicious actors rather than legal actors, and is likely to continue that way for quite some time.''

* Madam Chair, this bill and the important amendments we will also consider today are part of Congress's ongoing efforts to meet this growing challenge to the cyber and national security infrastructure of the country. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the bill.

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